Four arrested in connection with marijuana dispensary robberies

Four Ottawa-area men in their 20s face a host of robbery charges related to a recent spate of break-ins at marijuana dispensaries across the city.

Since the beginning of the year, Ottawa police say seven pot shops have been robbed — six of them in the past two months.

On Wednesday, patrol officers stopped a vehicle in the area of Bank Street and Heron Road. Two of the vehicle’s four occupants fled on foot, one of them was caught and arrested nearby.

The second fugitive was tracked down in a search involving canine units and a team of officers. Following his arrest, he was treated at hospital for a “minor” injury incurred during the arrest.

The two men who remained in the car were taken into custody.

On Thursday, police returned to the scene of the stop and search and found a loaded handgun in the same area.

The charges laid are in connection to robberies that occurred this month on Nov. 5 at Magna Terra Health Services on Iber Road in Stittsville; Nov. 11 at the Sylk Medy dispensary on Gladstone Avenue; and Nov. 16 at the OMD on Antares Drive.

More charges are expected to be laid and several investigations continue into the robberies atthe Capital City Cannabis Clinic onBank Street in South Keys (Oct. 27), Ottawa Cannabis Dispensary on Laperriere Avenue (Oct. 26), CannaGreen on St. Joseph Boulevard (Oct. 23) and WeeMedical Dispensary on Rideau Street (Sept. 6).

Anyone with information is asked to call the Ottawa police robbery unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 5116. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll free at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or by downloading the Ottawa Police app.